Cycling Magazines/what do you subscribe to?

[Shimpie]

[QUOTE=Grog] Isn't it known that women love to shop, too? And that they are into shoes? QUOTE]

The new Bicycling magazine has a 4 page layout focusing on shoes. I don't have the magazine in front of me, but I don't recall seeing any women's shoes. It kinda annoyed me.

[Grog]

From long experience with legislative battles on certain issues, don't write unless you have something unique and legitimate to say. Don't write because everyone else is. If Bicycling magazine read this thread, they would discount a large influx of letters about the latest issue as just an anomoly spurred by this thread.

What would be better is if subscribers wrote promptly about their opinion of the latest issue and they did it every month--not a coordinated effort but honest feedback.

That's not to say a large influx of letters couldn't make a difference. They just need to be genuine complaints.

I am quite certain there IS a genuine complaint here.

Besides, Bicycling is NOT a legislating body. It's a magazine trying to sell copies (and advertising space).

If all letters are the exact same (petition-like) of course it can be discarded. At the same time, I know, as someone who has worked in retail and politics, that when I receive a letter from someone who has taken the time to actually write a note and send it, it does have some impact on me, as I keep thinking about it for a while, and may change my actions in consequence. For example, I can imagine a woman (or a man) on the sales team at Bicycling having new ideas about how to pitch her stuff to potential ad buyers. Or the illustrator of Bicycling realizing: gosh, have I really been drawing only men? I doubt that this is a totally conscious strategy on their part. Or maybe it is, but certainly not for all. And if the illustrator starts drawing women instead of men say one out of four times, I don't think the editor will stop him from doing so. And if there already is a woman (or man) on staff trying to change things, a few letters will give her (or him) further weight on the editorial board.

So it's worth trying.

[Tuckervill]

No, I didn't mean the complaints weren't legit or genuine. Only that it will have less impact if there are a bunch of letters all saying basically the same thing in a short amount of time. Sustained complaints over current issues will be more effective, in my opinion.

Karen

[Grog]

No, I didn't mean the complaints weren't legit or genuine. Only that it will have less impact if there are a bunch of letters all saying basically the same thing in a short amount of time. Sustained complaints over current issues will be more effective, in my opinion.

I totally agree.

[Trek420]

and arriving in my mail today.....Bicycling magazine with special 8 page promotional insert for "Best Life" from the editors of "Men's Health" including the feature "How to Drive Women Wild". According to them the top 3 things we want to hear

1) I can't wait to see you
2) I love waking up with you
3) I brought you something

thought it was
1) I'll do the dishes
2) I love doing laundry
3) I brought you something from the LBS

[Prairiedog]

and arriving in my mail today.....Bicycling magazine with special 8 page promotional insert for "Best Life" from the editors of "Men's Health" including the feature "How to Drive Women Wild". According to them the top 3 things we want to hear

1) I can't wait to see you
2) I love waking up with you
3) I brought you something

thought it was
1) I'll do the dishes
2) I love doing laundry
3) I brought you something from the LBS

Trek...I'm sending you a "high-five" on that one!! After reading this thread I got out the May issue of Bicycling and after going page-by-page I was appalled that 99% of the people in the magazine ARE men. I am usually so miffed by the articles they write that I have never paid attention before to the fact that the magazine does in fact totally ignore woman as serious cyclists.

So much for burning our sports bras.

[Prairiedog]

Grog...you can subscribe to 'Her Sport' at Amazon.com

[SandyGirl]

I took a peak at the current Bicyclng magazine and also felt that it was Male oriented. I am a not a racer, etc. Just a rider that wants fitness and excercise out of the rides. I will check out the HerSport. Thanks for bringing that one to my attention.
Sandy

[Lifesgreat]

HerSports is also available at www.hersports.com

[Starfish]

Grog, thanks for a kick in the butt. I've been thinking of going through my whole last year's worth of Bicycling and doing what you did before writing my letter. I am going to do it. And, Tuckerville, I love your input about simply writing a real, even if brief, letter each month, specific to each issue.

I have also been sending letters to companies like Nashbar and so forth. I am tired of 2 pages of women's stuff inside a whole catalog. I also find it irritating that women's clothes are labelled just that (women's clothes) and men's clothes are not. Flip through biking catalogs, and you see (mostly) when men's clothes are shown, they are not specified men's vs. women's. They would like to imply that non-women's clothes are unisex, except that we all know that if it hasn't been made for a woman, it is designed to work for men.

Someone else here mentioned the Bicycling shoe article. That irritated me, too. The greatest cycling shoes! All men's (and all tested by men), but the article was not called The Best Men's Cycling Shoes. I have also noticed that almost always the bike testers are men. I know that not all women require WSD bikes, and I would like to see more women writing about all the bikes that get test-ridden.

Finally, it irks me that Style-Man gets to be called a man, but it's Fit-Chick and Shop-Girl. You notice it is not Style-Boy and Shop-Woman.

Thanks to all of you for your great input, your alternative publication suggestions (also worth mentioning to Bicycling...tell them who they're being replaced by), and any commitments you make to writing letters & speaking up. And, thank you for being here in these forums!